Cabinet extends PM Swasthya Suraksha Yojana till 2019-20

New Delhi, May 2 

In a major boost to expansion of health care infrastructure in the country, the Union Cabinet today approved the continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) beyond 12th Five Year Plan to 2019-20.  

The PMSSY, which is a central sector scheme, aims at correcting the imbalances in the availability of affordable tertiary health care facilities in different parts of the country in general, and augmenting facilities for quality medical education in the under-served states in particular.

The financial outlay for this purpose is Rs 14,832 crore. Under this scheme, new All India Institute of Medical Science are established and the government medical colleges are upgraded, an official statement said.

Expressing gratitude to the prime minister, Union Health minister J P Nadda said setting up of new AIIMS would not only transform health education and training, but also address the shortfall of health care professionals in the region. The construction of new AIIMS is fully-funded by the central government.

Setting up new AIIMS in various states will also lead to employment generation for nearly 3,000 people in various faculty and non-faculty posts in each of the institutes. 

The upgradation programme is carried out in selected government medical colleges (GMCs) by agencies appointed by the Government of India under the direct supervision of the central government. 

The post-graduate seats and additional faculty posts as per norms will be created and filled up in these GMCs by the respective state/Union Territories governments.

Highlighting the benefits of the scheme, Nadda said each new AIIMS will add 100 UG (MBBS) and 60 BSc (Nursing) seats, 15-20 super specialty departments and around 750 hospital beds. 

As per data of current functional AIIMS, it is expected that each new AIIMS would cater to around 1,500 OPD patients/day and around 1,000 IPD patients/month, he said.

The Union Health minister said that the PMSSY aims at correcting regional imbalances in the availability of affordable and reliable tertiary health care services and also at augmenting facilities for quality medical education in different regions of the country.

He said various initiatives under the PMSSY will lead to development of apex level medical education and nursing education and connected research facilities. 

It will also lead to creation of tertiary level health care infrastructure through establishment of new AIIMS and will improve the referral system and enhance cross linkages between primary, secondary and tertiary level health care facilities.

Nadda emphasised that schemes under the PMSSY will result in the reduction of disparities to access quality health services between the states and the regions. - PTI